Image of Maddie Poppe and Ryan Seacrest on Idol finale from wcfcourier.com

​ After about five months of American Idol season 16 being on ABC, the season finale was last night. The top three artists were Gabby Barret, Caleb Hutchinson, and Maddie Poppe. But after a round of singing the nation voted for the top two contestants that were Maddie and Caleb. Some people were shocked that Gabby didn’t make it to top two since she has a powerhouse voice much like Idol vet, Carrie Underwood, but that wasn’t the only surprise for the night. Right before the winner was announced Caleb and Maddie shared the stage together and were casually answering questions on how close the two of them had become during the duration of the show. That’s when Caleb dropped a truth bomb that blew the audience’s mind. He and Maddie are now a couple. They even performed the Israel Kamakawiw’ole cover of, “Over the Rainbow,” together. Shortly afterwards, host, Ryan Seacrest began to tell the contestants and audience on how that song reminded him of the beach and gave everyone yet another surprise. Both Maddie and Caleb, along with their parents, are going to be treated with a vacation to Hawaii.

Image of Maddie and her idol friends celebrating the night from metro.co.uk.com by (Picture: ABC/Getty Images)

​After one final performance from the idol contestant Ada Vox and Pattie LaBelle singing “Lady Marmalade,” the top two contestants came back on stage to here who had won. As always, the envelope was handed to Seacrest, the dramatic background music played, and the lights were dimmed to low when Seacrest announced that the new winner of American Idol was Maddie Poppe. Maddie was going to sing her song, “Going, Going, Gone,” but became overrun with emotions. The night ended with her idol friends and contestants rushing the stage to help her finish the song and celebrate her win. In my opinion, this was a great season and come back for this show. The judges were the sweetest and most caring panel of judges this show ever had. It cut most of the drama, that some people were getting bored with, and focused more on the music and the performers. It went by a lot faster, and the overall relationship between the contestants was a beautiful one. Even though Gabby, Caleb, and the others didn’t win, I still believe they’ll be headed to a bright future in the music industry. They were all exceedingly talented this year.